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First Fountain

Done my study last night with the Jinhao. Having not just put down the dip pen, but starting with the fountain....it seemed much better. Perhaps I just expected it to be exactly like my dip with out.... the dip? LOL Anyway, it is a bit lighter, BUT you can read it (not like it disappears) - it is sooo smooth - I plan for this to be my bang around the truck/Sunday school/general work horse. So I reckon it will fit the bill. Then I take everyones advice in for consideration and get my luxury spoil myself pen next.
 
I've ordered my first Wing Sung 699 plunger filler pen. Waiting for the delivery. The Jinhao works well and writes very smoothly though.
 
I've ordered my first Wing Sung 699 plunger filler pen. Waiting for the delivery. The Jinhao works well and writes very smoothly though.
So the end hangs out some all the time or do you push it all the way back in? Good looking pen. Hope it writes well for you.
 
My basic pen is a Kaweco Sport Classic. Black plastic, small in the hand. Mine has the best nib I haver used, which might be just luck. I have a couple of other pens in rotation. I love my sterling silver Montegrappa, but the Kaweco does have a better nib. About +/- $30.00. Do buy the clip.
 
I have helped a number of people into the world of fountain pens. There is only one pen that I consider the perfect "starter" pen. That is the legendary Parker 51.
Built like a tank, and designed to work...every time. Can sit for years /decades and still work fine with a simple water flush.

Whether you get the Vacumatic or the earlier Aeromatic ( I think the Vac is better for beginners), they will serve for a lifetime or two.
One that has been restored/serviced is going to run about a hundred bucks, and worth every penny.
If you end up not liking it, you will never loose money on it.
 
Trentr, From what I read on various forums you have to leave the top unscrewed if you want to write continuously but this is common with plunger fillers. I'll report back when I get it 🙂
 
I have helped a number of people into the world of fountain pens. There is only one pen that I consider the perfect "starter" pen. That is the legendary Parker 51.
Built like a tank, and designed to work...every time. Can sit for years /decades and still work fine with a simple water flush.

Whether you get the Vacumatic or the earlier Aeromatic ( I think the Vac is better for beginners), they will serve for a lifetime or two.
One that has been restored/serviced is going to run about a hundred bucks, and worth every penny.
If you end up not liking it, you will never loose money on it.
Just a short correction... The aero came after the Vac..... for a beginner the Aero is the best choice
 

Nib reference and reviews guide. Good place to start
 
Back for more advice. My pen has a piston style converter, I believe. You twist the end and it draws a plunger up to pull ink in. My questions is, do you have to periodically twist it the other way to push the plunger down as ink is used up? My pen was writing rather light. I checked to see if it was out of ink. The ink was at the piston end of the converter and there was an air bubble taking up the space where ink used to be toward the nib end. I twisted the end to push the piston down, forcing the air bubble out. Viola, writing beautifully again. So it is working. I am just curious if this is how it "should" be done.
 
I have been having this issue with various converters and I always solved it the way you have done. I don't think it is normal for this to happen but who am I to comment on gravity, capillarity and so on ? :cool:
 

AimlessWanderer

Remember to forget me!
I've had an air lock from time to time. Not that often though. I cap the pen, hold it vertically, cap down, and drop it 50-60mm onto the note pad a couple of times. Inertia will coax the ink past the air, and all is well again. No doubt such a technique would end horribly with some delicate pens, but it works just fine with mine :)
 
I've had an air lock from time to time. Not that often though. I cap the pen, hold it vertically, cap down, and drop it 50-60mm onto the note pad a couple of times. Inertia will coax the ink past the air, and all is well again. No doubt such a technique would end horribly with some delicate pens, but it works just fine with mine :)
Seems as if I have seen cartoons of a shake or a tap and a big ink puddle, so I was hesitant LOL. thanks for the tip
 

tankerjohn

A little poofier than I prefer
If you hop in the Way Back Machine to high school chemistry class, you might recall that water has cohesive (sticks together) and adhesive (sticks to other things like glass) properties. That’s why water was hard to measure in narrow test tubes when it stuck to the sides of the tube. Fountain pen ink is water-based and does the same thing in converters. Some H2O molecules stick to the side of the converter then other molecules stick to those ones and forms a glob. Perfectly normal. I find a flick or two of my finger on the converter dislodges the glob and gets everything flowing again. I suppose that coating the inside of the converter with silicone grease would prevent the ink from sticking if that ever really became a major problem.
 
After having purchased or have been gifted the following fountain new pens: Pilot Metropolitan, Lamy Safari, Lamy Al-Star, Noodler's, Schaeffer's student pen, Moonman C1, Moonman M2 and a new old stock Parker 45, I have come to believe that that best all around first fountain pen is the Lamy Al-Star (Aluminum bodied Safari).

1. They can be found sub 30ish shipped with an ink cartridge
2. They have a much better feel/appearance than a plastic bodied Safari.
3. They hold their ink well and "restart" nearly effortlessly with non use.
4. They can be primed when needed with their very controllable ink converter (extra 5-7 dollars and NOT included w the pen)

A close second is the Pilot Metropolitan at 20 ish shipped.
1. Like the Al-star, all metal barrel and cap.
2. Unlike the Lamy, you get an ink converter right off the bat so the price swing v. an Al-Star is 15ish.
3. A lot of fit and finish for the money.
4. They do seem to dry out a fair bit faster than the Lamy with non use

7 or 8 years into the game, I have settled firmly in the sub 50.00 category. Nice enough to keep track of, not so nice that it is the end of the world if lost. I am unlikely to spend more on any "plastic" bodied pens.
 

AimlessWanderer

Remember to forget me!
7 or 8 years into the game, I have settled firmly in the sub 50.00 category. Nice enough to keep track of, not so nice that it is the end of the world if lost. I am unlikely to spend more on any "plastic" bodied pens.

I like the cheaper metal bodied pens too, although in my case, they're the OHTO Tasche and Baoer 388.

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They're perfect for everyday use, and these are the only two fountain pens that would leave the house with me. I have four spares of the Baoer.

I haven't abandoned plastic pens altogether though.

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These two Wing Sung pens, a Safari clone, and a piston filled transparent pen, actual mode numbers unknown, are my other two regular users. The clear one is a great writer, and very comfortable to use. I have a couple of spares of that one too, as I am mindful that it's not of a particularly robust construction. The Safari clone is fine for occasional use, but less comfortable for me with the out of round section. I haven't bothered getting a spare, and tend to use it with the more "occasional" inks, such as reds, or right now, Burnt Sienna. The other three I fill with darker "everyay" inks.
 
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